Sunday, October 22, 2006

Weekend Herb Blogging #55

Of the many varieties of mint, the one pictured is the Crinkly-leaf Spearmint which has that typical, heady mint scent. It's most commonly used in mint sauce, mint jelly and mint julep. It's also often matched to fresh green peas.

Mint is said to aid in digestion so I thought I'd utilise this property in the recipe. More suited for the ever-approaching summer, the refreshing tang of this mint sorbet will be sure to please on those warm evenings.

Your mint sorbet looks refreshing, indeed! I bought mint twice this month, so far. Last week and this week. I like the taste, of course, but I've discovered that when I use too much, it spoils the taste of my recipe. I have to remember not to use too much.

Hi Lorna You can add alcohol if you like but you'll find that even without it - because you've used a sugar syrup, it doesn't actually set solid in the freezer - it's more like a firm slush. If I had to add some alcohol it would be Creme de Menthe to give the sorbet a green tinge.

I made a mojito sorbet this summer for a bbq. The rum was added while the sorbet was served. Otherwise, the sorbet would have come out too mushy. I also used limes instead of lemon.

I remember my first experiment with ice cream and alcohol -- a bourbon ice cream from the Chez Panisse dessert book. I wanted to add more bourbon than the recipe asked for, but the mixture had a hard time freezing! I will stick to the recipe next time.

Hi Anon - it's probably a good idea to follow recipes when you're doing new things. When dealing with frozen things they really do tend to intensify the flavour of the spirit so you need a much smaller amount then you might have thought.